The total number of coronavirus infection cases confirmed in Hong Kong has risen to 10, an official from Hong Kong's Health Department said at a press conference in Hong Kong on Monday.

"Today, we identified two new preliminary positive suspected cases and later we expect results about whether these are confirmed cases," said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan.

"These are the ninth and tenth cases, involving two elderly people, a 73-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man. They are residents of Wuhan in mainland China and they arrived here on January 22."

The total number of cases confirmed by China stands at almost 6,000, with 132 thought to have died from the disease.

The new strain of coronavirus has spread from China to other countries, including the US, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, Nepal, France and Germany. Cases were also reported in Taiwan, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.